Saturday, May 25, 2013

So apparently young fans are being priced out of going to music festivals. Not really news, is it? Ticket prices comfortably into three figures for most big events are going to be prohibitive to pretty much anyone reliant on pocket money - and that's not to mention all the additional costs (transport, booze and food).

A couple of years back the Eavises acknowledged that the complications of Glastonbury's ticket-buying process had resulted in fewer young attendees, though I don't recall them also accepting that the ticket price might be a factor. It would be interesting to know if they feel they've been able to redress the balance, and if so how they achieved this.

How to feel about the trend generally? On the one hand, young festival-goers are the lifeblood, without whom festivals don't really have much of a future, but on the other festival overheads are increasingly large and personally I don't feel that ticket prices are that unreasonable considering what you get for your money (at Glastonbury in particular). In 2005, for instance, I had the immense pleasure of seeing Brian Wilson, and later discovered that to catch him elsewhere on his UK tour would have cost £60, significantly more than a third of the Glastonbury ticket cost at the time. I'd also have to admit I like the fact that festivals aren't unwelcoming to a thirty-something music fan desperate to cling to the last vestiges of his youth...

Will festival saturation point result in reduced ticket prices, or just fewer events? I suspect the latter.